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Housing bottom will come late for Seattle, report says

The national housing market will hit bottom in March 2010, but Seattle won’t see a year-over-year appreciation for a while, according to data from First American CoreLogic.

Nationally, homes will show a 12-month appreciation of 4.6 percent by August 2010, the report said. The Seattle metropolitan area, true to form, will lag behind the recovery and will show a 12-month drop of 1.96 percent by August while much of the nation is on the upswing, the report said.

It did not give an estimate of when Seattle will see year-over-year increases

Home prices were down 13.99 percent year-over year in August in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area. That number was 14.3 percent in July and 15.75 percent in June, showing a slowing rate of decline.

Nationally, home prices were down 10.1 percent in August compared to a year ago. Excluding distressed sales, prices dropped 6.2 percent. Prices of distressed properties are dropping faster than non-distressed homes, the report said.

The prediction of a March rebound is predicated on the first-time homebuyer tax credit expiring and an increasing inventory of foreclosed homes. The tax credit appears headed for some type of extension and could be phased out over the next year or so. The report also predicted a stronger recovery in the lower-priced segment of the housing market.

The LoanPerformance Home Price Index has seen month-over-month increases each month starting in March. The index has fallen 28.1 percent since it April 2006 peak.

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